On the scene is a weekly column written by public safety reporter Sheyanne Romero.

Instead of opting for the reasonably-priced midnight munchie meal, six Visalia residents craved crime. Their hankering led them to a Visalia smoke shop.

Early Tuesday morning, Smokin’ Deals Smoke Shop in the 1500 block of South Court Street was burglarized by six suspects who lived nearby. Although the thefts happened earlier that morning, police were sure to note the time the crime was reported — 4:20 a.m.

Patrol officers responded just after 1:30 p.m. to the shop.

Employees called police after they recognized, Angel Sanchez, 28 of Visalia, from a surveillance video from inside the store.

According to an employee, Sanchez came back in an attempt to act as if everything was “OK”. Or maybe something caught his eye while he was there earlier that day. It’s unknown at this time why he went back to the smoke shop.

Employees stopped Sanchez from leaving the store and called police to say they had captured the suspected thief.

Detectives with Visalia’s Property Crimes Unit, headed by Sgt. Mark Feller, were called out to assist officers in the investigation. Detectives used surveillance video to identify five additional people who helped Sanchez burglarize the smoke shop, Feller said.

The remaining suspects were found at a home in the 100 block of West Paradise Avenue, within walking distance of the shop. During a search of the home, detectives said they recovered several glass smoke pipes.

• Of adults 26 or older who used marijuana before age 15, 62 percent went on to use cocaine at some point in their lives; 9 percent went on to use heroin at least once; and 54 percent made some nonmedical use of mind-altering prescription drugs.

•Next to alcohol, marijuana is the second most frequently found substance in the bodies of drivers involved in fatal automobile accidents.

• More than 94 million people in the US have admitted using it at least once.

• Domestic marijuana production has increased tenfold over the last 25 years: from 2.2 million pounds in 1981 to 22 million pounds in 2006.

• Not surprisingly, 58 percent of those aged 12 to 17 state that pot is easy to obtain.

• Marijuana users spent approximately $10.5 billion on the drug in 2000.

• According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, a large percentage of those arrested for crimes test positive for marijuana.

• Nationwide, 40 percent of adult males tested positive at the time of their arrest.

• According to the United Nations, 158.8 million people around the world use marijuana — about 4 percent of the planet’s population.